Curbside collection is just one of the many services that the Town of Golden provides.

The cost of curbside collection services is $118.70 per year, which you pay through your annual utility bill. Broken down, it’s $93.77 for garbage, and $24.93 for recycling. For this, you get weekly garbage and bi-weekly recycling pickup, standardized town-owned bins, and a more comprehensive and less expensive recycling program than most cities have. Plus there’s no “tag a bag”, or blue plastic bag requirements which just complicate things. Your annual fee also includes an annual contribution to a reserve fund for eventual bin replacements.

The Town partners with Recycle BC (formerly Multi-Material BC) a non-profit organization responsible for residential packaging and printed paper recycling throughout British Columbia.

“By taking advantage of Recycle BC incentives, and contributing to reserves, we were able to lower collection rates last year and purchase the first 400 of our new bear-proof bins without borrowing,” says Town of Golden CAO Jon Wilsgard. “We encourage residents to remain diligent in their recycling efforts and stick to the rules so that we can continue to pass along savings and other perks as we go forward with this program. Prohibited materials found in bins count against us and enough of them will cost us, which means higher rates for residents.”

Wilsgard notes that the next 400 bins will be rolled out this spring.

Did you know?
• A Curbside Collection Calendar is included with your annual utility bill which you should receive in the mail no later than the first week in February. Due date for payment is March 29, 2018. You can view the collection calendar by clicking HERE.

• The bins are the property of the Town of Golden and are numerically identified with the civic address they are provided to.

• The new bear-proof bins will continue to be purchased over the next year with the intent to have one for every resident by 2019. Costs will be covered through bin replacement reserves as the Town continues to contribute using the same structure as in past years.

• It’s Recycle BC, through an approved Ministry of Environment Stewardship Plan, that determines what can be recycled, not the Town of Golden, and that list is standardized across the province. To learn more about Recycle BC, visit their website at www.recyclebc.ca. You can also learn more by going to the home page of our website and clicking on the Learn About tab.

• Recycling helps keep waste out of our landfills and minimize our impact on the environment. You can help by recycling responsibly. Visit recyclebc.ca to learn more about what you can do.